A visit to the market and some rants

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For what has now become a normal routine every Friday, I visited a popular market a few miles away from my house this past Friday where I went to buy some foodstuff for the family. Nowadays, one cannot really put a figure on the exact amount they will spend in the market because the inflation level is pretty high. Prices of goods sometimes move up by 50% within a few days. I was able to get some key household stuff and was particularly pleased with the yam I bought whose image is below.

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I got the 5 tubers for three thousand five hundred naira (about $7) in a rather surprising event. The woman that sold to me confessed that we are in yam season and the price might even fall further in the coming weeks as the dry season approaches.

But then, a question that has always been disturbing my mind came up again - why are we suffering in Nigeria when we have got every resource to be among the richest countries in the world? In actual fact, Nigeria is blessed with arable land and an equally favourable climate for agricultural food production that can sustain a large part of the world. Assuming the arable land and favourable climate is all that we have got as a country, those are enough to put us among the richest in the world.

Alas, we combine the above resources with other resources such as gold, tin, bauxite, crude oil, and a host of other natural resources, and still, we are languishing in poverty as a country. For the record, Nigeria is rated as the poverty capital of the world according to the 2020 report of World Poverty Clock while the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics reported that 40% of the Nigerian total population wallowed in poverty in 2020 and figure is expected to rise going forward.

To be sincere in answering my own question on why we are so blessed yet so poor as a nation, the number one reason I will give is the mindset of average Nigerians. Very few people believe in producing while everyone just wants to keep consuming. No one wants to go to a farm but none can survive without food. Not even those that studied agriculture want to farm. Getting educated and seeking a white-collar job is the order of the day even in the face of massive unemployment that we are currently witnessing. Everyone believes in just taking their money to the market to buy food and will keep groaning as inflation bites hard and the purchasing power of money becomes significantly reduced.

Combine a consumption-mindset population with corrupt governance and what you are going to get is a disaster - the right word to describe the current Nigerian situation.

The solution

One key indicator of poverty is hunger and hunger is an indicator of inadequate food. Since all we need to do is bury some seeds in the ground, wait for them to germinate, nurture them to maturity, harvest, and start eating; I see no reason why we cannot farm in our own little way. Everyone does not need to go into commercial farming, but at least, we all can try to plant what we (and maybe, our household) eat. Every little effort adds to the country's bottom line.

This is what I decided to do this year. Just before the rainy season peaked, I got the opportunity of a little strip of land and decided to utilize it to plant corn. I first killed off the weed on the land using a herbicide and planted the maize a few days after. In less than 3 months, the maize germinated, matured, and produced a good yield.

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I delayed the harvest a bit in order not to harvest too early but upon getting there one day just for some inspections, I discovered that rodents have started dealing massively with the maize cobs.

The following day, I quickly visited the farm again, with my family this time around, to harvest everything in order to salvage whatever is left. The harvest was not large because the maize plants can easily be counted via the tips of the finger. It was not much, but it was the little I could do. I took the harvest home, divided it into multiple divisions, and distributed some to my neighbours before boiling the rest. We ate and dine the entire day without having to think about using money to buy food. Is this what farmers feel when they harvest their produce?

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Final Words

Nigeria as a country really has no business being poor with all the resources at its disposal. However, the mindset of people needs to change from consumption to production. The barest minimum we can produce is food and we collectively stand a lot to gain from small. medium, or large-scale food production.

Small and medium-scale food production by a large percentage of the population will ensure that we are self-sustainable in the area of food production and will no longer be fingered as a poverty-ridden country. Combine that with large-scale food production and we might be on our way to feeding the world. By the way, an estimated 30% of the global population lacked access to adequate food as of the year 2020 as reported by the World Bank. If you factor in the multiplier effects of the COVID19 pandemic, that figure might double this year alone.

We have got the natural resources, all we just need to do is put our asses to work, if not for anything, for our own stomach.



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18 comments
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This is a very interesting viewpoint and is educational to me. I just always assumed Nigeria may be poor due to exploitation by outside influences such as other countries and global corporations. Or is that maybe part of the government corruption you speak to?

Those rodents did a number on the maze, I am glad you were able to salvage it before they did more damage. I am also warmed to know you were able to share so much with your neighbors. My neighbor has a large garden and does the same with us as well, although we can afford to buy our own food, they still show so much generosity to their neighbors.

Is there any type of educational programs taking place to encourage people to move to blue-collar jobs like farming?

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Yes, foreign exploitation and the government's corruption play a large role in keeping the country impoverished but I just do not like talking about that because it is totally out of the power of the citizens. I will rather focus on the practicable things that can be done by the citizens in order to improve our situation.

We cannot keep complaining of food inflation when we've got arable lands all around us. I believe so much in sharing, especially with my immediate neighbors. I sometimes wonder if they've eaten while eating my own food. It is the littlest we can do for each other.

The government is never sincere with anything. Hence, I just try to sensitize people in my own little way and then do the little I can to add to the bottomline.


Posted via proofofbrain.io

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The government is never sincere with anything.

I think all governments are like this.

I believe so much in sharing, especially with my immediate neighbors.

That is wonderful and endears you to your neighbors I am sure. Taking care of each our own neighbors is where we can get the easy wins.

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Those who look down on farming are probably not well informed. It is one of the businesses I hope to get into at some point (if I am still here). It just takes a little knowledge and capital. One can go into mechanized farming and the government supports should incentives with grants and loans.

In my compound, we have a plantain and banana tree. We hardly buy those things when they are in season because we have surplus. The point is, we might not go into large-scale farming but we can grow what we eat-- at least some of it.

At the core of poverty is ignorance.

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Prices of goods sometimes move up by 50% within a few days

WOW that’s crazy and scary

So interesting to read your thoughts on the situation there and great to see your doing you but to try and improve things

I found my way here via #dreemport

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This is a good point of view and I can assure you that it's based on facts because I also live in this country and I see how things goes on in all its niches.

For the record, I have to say that you really got those yam for a fair price. I stay in Anambra and it's not easy to get that much with $7. And we have farmlands across every party of the country. Woww... This is weird.

I won't even talk about the rice issue. That one is becoming a norm.

Have you ever wondered what will happen when it becomes possible for us to Import stuff like yam, maize, beans and co.

I bet many Nigerians will pay so much to get the imported ones that are homemade.

Our issue in this Nigeria are quite alot.

Nice reading from you. I got to this post via @dreemport

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One would expect farm produce to be cheaper in areas where farming activity is high. Unless people are hoarding and trying to profit excessively from the system which is often the case with Nigeria. I hope we learn before it becomes too late.

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(Edited)

Good for you to take initiative. Just sad to hear about the damage the rodents have caused you. Yet, you still managed to get a harvest though. Well done!

the mindset of people needs to change from consumption to production

This is very true what you here. Unless people have a mind shift in the right direction as you point out here, there will be a problem.

A well-known preacher, Creflo Dollar, has a saying I love. He says "change the way a man thinks and you'll change his world."

I got here via @dreemport

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Thanks for the kind comment. I do not feel bad about the rodents. In fact, I was happy to be their meal provider.

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Now that is an awesome way of looking at the situation! Good for you.

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When I think about Nigeria and how bad the economy is turning out to be, I get discouraged.

Good to know you started out something agro.. but then, the poor turn out of the harvest.

It's well, Nigeria, I pray, will be better and live out the colors on it's flag.

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We feel discouraged because we think there are greener grasses somewhere else. Not everyone can move abroad though, we need to be more practical in fixing our problems. I don't really feel bad about the harvest. Those rodents have to eat somehow and I'm glad to have fed them, albeit indirectly.

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Those rodents have to eat somehow and I'm glad to have fed them, albeit indirectly.

😂😂😂

Please they should go plant their own crops abeg😂

And I agree with us fixing our problems practically, starting from our niche.

To japa no be beans

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I so much love your mindset and your way of thinking... The problem Nigeria as a country is having is laziness... We all are just so lazy... Everyone wants to depend on others for their foodstuffs not thinking of growing these same foodstuffs themselves...

We have all it takes but unfortunately, we careless when it comes to utilizing our resources. I only pray we come to the realization that we are the problem we are having in Nigeria.

So sorry about your maize, am happy you were able to salvage some of it...

@dreemport directed me here

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